Students Welcome University Fee Freezes For 2003

Students Welcome University Fee Freezes For 2003

The New Zealand University Students’ Association (NZUSA) has welcomed the announcement that fees at Massey and Canterbury Universities will be frozen for 2003.

“We would like to congratulate the councils at these universities for continuing to acknowledge that fees must not go up. In making this decision, they create pressure for other institutions to also hold their fees, and do their bit to ensure student debt does not balloon out of control,” said NZUSA Co-President Andrew Campbell.

“This will be the last year of the fee freeze, “ said Campbell. “The new policy of fee maxima as part of a new funding system will ensure that fee setting is a public process that governments will be accountable for.”

“The fee maxima should be set as low as possible to ensure that high tuition fees do not act as a disincentive to participation in tertiary education. No student fees should go up because of the new funding system.”

“In order to improve access and ensure excellence in tertiary education, government needs to reinvest in student support and tertiary funding,” said Campbell. “If Labour are serious about New Zealand being a knowledge society, they will have to start backing their sentiments up with decent funding.”

“Freezing fees is a good start. Increasing access to living allowances and increasing funding to public tertiary institutions to improve staff pay and conditions will help to get our tertiary sector back up with the world’s best.”

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